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vnunet.com Asia news wrap: Monday 14 November

Taiwan expects PDA shipments to reach 13.7 milion in 2005, about 80 per cent
of the global total.

Industry data released by the
Market Intelligence
Center (MIC), a Taipei-based research organisation, shows that growth is
being driven by a rapid expansion in the phone PDA market.

The figures from Taiwanese manufacturers reinforce reports published earlier
this month by IDC and
Gartner which reveal a
sharp rise in phone PDA sales, at the expense of
traditional PDAs.

Taiwan's phone PDA sales leapt 51.8 per cent in the third quarter compared to
2004, according to MIC, while sales of other PDA types increased only 2.9 per
cent in the same period.

MIC predicts a further 21 per cent jump in phone PDA sales in the fourth
quarter, driven by new models featuring technologies such as
EV-DO (a
wireless broadband protocol).

This trend will continue, the organisation believes, with a further 12.5 per
cent increase in the first quarter of 2006.

The majority of Taiwan's PDA production is done on an OEM basis for
international brands like HP,
Palm,
Dell and
Acer.

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Japan will go ahead with plans to drop generous tax credits for R&D and
IT spending next year despite protests,
JiJi Press has reported.

The credits, which saved companies a total of more than $5.1bn last year, are
now seen as unnecessary by the government in light of economic recovery, an
argument strongly contested by business groups and opposition parties.

Introduced in 2002 to boost research and investment in technology, the tax
credits temporarily replaced existing regulations which only awarded tax savings
when companies expand research or IT spending.

**************************

Philips used the
announcement of a planned $20 mobile phone to draw attention to the opening of
its new design centre in Shanghai.

The company sees a potential market of 3.3 billion customers in countries
like China and India for an ultra low cost phone. No firm release date was
given, but Philips said that it plans to bring products to market by 2008.